Posco gets conditional green clearance for Odisha steel plant

Bhubaneswar: South Korean steel major Posco has received conditional revalidation of environment clearance from the Environment Ministry for its USD 12-billion steel project in Odisha, a company official said on Thursday.

The proposed 12-million-tonne-per-annum plant near Paradip port town in Jagatsinghpur district, about 100 km from Bhubaneswar, was given a five-year environment clearance in July 2007.

The revalidation of the clearance was necessary for the company to proceed on the project, the official said. It was granted on the condition that the company will spend five percent of its investment on enterprise social commitments.

The decision comes days ahead of South Korean President Park Geun-hye's four-day visit to India beginning on January 15.

The state government signed an agreement with Posco in 2005 for the project. The government has already acquired 2,700 acres of land required for the first phase of the project (eight million tons per annum).